


the sun's getting real low

by thorodinsxns (courvoisierinmycoffee)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 06:46:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14636280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courvoisierinmycoffee/pseuds/thorodinsxns
Summary: Thor manages to calm the Hulk down and Bruce Banner returns to him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is kinda bad but please enjoy this nonetheless!!! comment if you enjoyed

The fight was nearing its end, with Thor as the obvious victor, and the Hulk collapsed against the rubble from Thor’s blow. Lightning crackled as Thor moved closer to the green figure, fading away with each slow step. The abnormal electric hue left his eyes. It was over. 

The noise of the crowd was lost to Thor, his attention was completely focused on the Hulk, on his  _ friend _ . Thor would help him; he knew the Hulk - no,  _ Bruce _ \- needed him. 

“Hey, big guy,” Thor started, creeping close. He kept his voice soft and low, not wanting to startle the Hulk. “Sun’s getting real low.” Thor continued. The Hulk was only growing more agitated, though, yanking at his helmet and shaking his head, attempting to stand up. Thor persisted. He raised a hand, the one free of a weapon, and offered his palm to the hulking figure, a sign of submission. His fingers danced toward the Hulk, copying the movements Natasha had so often done. The Hulk seemed to recognise the words, as he reached out his own large one, an offer of peace. Thor smiled to see that his idea seemed to be working. Of course it was. 

“That’s it. Sun’s going down.” The god soothed, voice gentle and his movements cautious still. He held his hand steady, patient as he waited for the Hulk to make the first move, to understand that Thor no longer posed a threat. The air was tense between them, but Thor barely reacted and remained calm, even with his own old fear and anger boiling beneath his skin. 

The Hulk’s fingers reached out to touch Thor’s palm. His touch was rough, large hand covering the blond’s. Their hands were so close to intertwining.  It was intimate and Thor almost shivered as the Hulk’s fingers brushed his own. 

“I won’t hurt you anymore. No one will.” Thor promised. His lips were curled up in a warm smile, his words genuine. He was confident the Hulk understood. This would work, Thor was sure of it. Bruce Banner would be back with Thor soon. 

Then, suddenly, the Hulk stumbled back, flinching away from Thor. For a moment, Thor thought it was over, that the Hulk would fight back against him again and he prepared himself for a second battle. Yet, it had worked, his words and gentleness triggering something, the way it had so many times with Natasha. The Hulk was struggling, attempting to resist the transformation. He shouted and stumbled, angry with himself and Banner, refusing to lose control. “No!” The Hulk screamed over and over, fists slamming against his own chest. It was futile, though. Soon, he was shrinking and falling, the green fading away rapidly as Bruce Banner returned to the world, to  _ Thor _ . Banner slumped, slamming into the rubble. He appeared small, a tiny and seemingly frail figure compared to what had once been the Hulk. His eyes were wide and scared, overwhelmed by everything.

“Banner!” Thor shouted, excited and pleased, thankful that fate was finally on his side. His father was dead, his hammer gone, and his haircut, but Thor felt a little lighter knowing Banner was with him now. 

Repeating his shout of the man’s name, Thor scrambled forward. He abandoned his weapon and ripped his helmet off; Banner would never -  _ could _ never - hurt him. Anxiously, Thor dropped to Bruce’s side, immediately pushing the confused man to sit up. An arm was thrown over Banner’s shoulder. Thor checked him over for injuries, free hand running across Bruce’s chest and over his arms. Finally, he beamed at the man, happy to see the man was healthy and free of hurt. 

Banner blinked back at him, expression a little crazed and wide eyes scanning the arena with barely concealed fear. He was lost and afraid, but Banner had Thor now! It took him some time to acknowledge the blond, with Bruce distracted by the roaring crowd, many screaming their confusion, whilst others cheered for the Lord of Thunder. It was baffling. Bruce curled into himself, settling back into Thor’s touch and relaxing slightly as he was cradled against the god’s chest. Soft, silky material came to sit around  Bruce’s shoulders. It was Thor’s cape and Bruce found himself clinging to it desperately. 

“Thor?” Banner said eventually, his gaze finally settling on Thor, watching him with fear-filled eyes. He calmed, though, at the sight of the blond, something familiar in a place so foreign. Bruce focused solely on him, twisting in Thor’s arms to take in the recognisable face and its features. “You got a haircut. It looks good.” Bruce murmured, the only words he could find. He reached a hand up, fingering at the short strands of Thor’s hair for a long moment, tracing at the shaved patterns on the side of his head. 

Then, it dawned on him. He was in a battle arena, naked except for the ripped cape, and surrounded by thousands of screaming strangers. Bruce panicked. His breath quickened, his chest rising and falling frantically with terrified breaths. His hands shook. Bruce pulled away from Thor quickly, recoiling back. He moved to stand, stumbling on his feet and shivering at the cold. Thor reached for him, hands grabbing at his shoulders. “Breathe,” Thor whispered, soft. He took one of Bruce’s trembling hands and pressed it against his chest, just over his heart. Bruce could feel the steady beat of it, a constant  _ thud thud thud  _ for the man to focus on. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Banner nodded, attempting to match Thor’s breathing pattern. Eventually, after some time, he calmed. Thor squeezed Banner’s hand, offering the other man some comfort. For a second, he reached up to touch the Bruce’s cheek, but just as quickly, Thor stepped away. 

As Thor moved back, the rest of the world returned to the god and he heard the angry screaming of the crowd, their confusion clear. Thor glanced toward the sky to see a hologram of the Grandmaster playing, demanding for the people to calm. The Grandmaster looked somewhat baffled, but to Thor, it was still similar to the same expression he had worn in all of Thor’s time on Sakaar. 

“Sakaar, hear ye! There has been a slight issue. My beloved champion has not been defeated.” The Grandmaster laughed, hands waving about as if nothing was wrong. He looked strained. “All will be sorted!” 

“Who is that?” Bruce asked, stepping close to Thor again, as if seeking the blond’s protection.

“He kind of runs the place. You were his champion. Quite a lot has happened.” Thor shrugged, watching the hologram as the message repeated. The sound of the crowd was dimming, the people of Sakaar being escorted away. The sky was darkening. 

Thor needed a plan. And quick. The Grandmaster wouldn’t take too kindly to Thor getting rid of his Champion; he had been annoyed at the very thought of Thor defeating the Hulk. 

He could hear people making their way towards them, armed and ready to fight. 

Thor stepped forward, pushing Bruce behind him. He tensed and curled his hands into fists, preparing for a second battle. A little thunder would scare them all away.

“Watch out, Banner.” Thor warned, glancing back at his friend for a second, a reassuring smile on his lips. There was no need to worry. They would be fine. 

Just as his eyes were crackling blue and lightning beginning to fly from his fingertips, pain eloped his body and his muscles seized, the obedience disk active and angry. Thor collapsed to the ground, consumed with pain. His vision grew fuzzy and darkness took over. The last thing he heard was Bruce’s panicked shouts, fear clear in his voice as Thor left him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wrote this in like five mins as a short continuation inspired by the deleted scene of bruce calling for thor ?? yeah this is kinda messy and has not been read over but hey here you go 
> 
> also it’s hulk bc bruce got mad when everyone hurt thor at the end of the last chapter so this is thorhulk lol

When Thor awoke, it was to pain. His body ached and his bones cracked as he pushed himself up from the cold ground. His breathing was shallow and painful, but Thor ignored it, instead shifting around to take in the room. It appeared empty, isolated and dark. 

Where was Bruce? 

The thought panicked him immediately and Thor twisted around swiftly, searching desperately for the man, for his friend. 

A loud splash of water caught Thor’s attention, making him flinch and turn toward the sound. In the shadows, Thor made out the large figure of the Hulk. 

Banner was gone. 

“Hulk in a hot tub.” He nodded, a dry comment in an attempt to calm himself. Yet, Thor couldn’t stop himself from pacing around the room, unsure what to say now Banner was gone, now the Hulk had returned after being forced back by Thor’s lullaby. 

“How long have you been like that?” 

“Like what?”

Thor shrugged, turning away. “Big, green, stupid.”

“Hulk always Hulk.” 

That was, until Thor had come along. Except, Banner was gone now and the Hulk had won. “And Banner? What happened to Banner?”

“Angry.” 

Twisting around again, Thor turned his attention back to the green figure. “He came back. I brought him back.” The blond insisted, shaking his head. 

“Only Hulk!” The shout was clearly meant an end to the conversation.

Thor sighed. Perhaps he could try the lullaby again? Yet, the Hulk would hardly let it work a second time around. There was no point trying, not yet; Thor would could wait. Hulk it was, then – and, of course, there was nothing wrong with the Hulk. Except when he tried to beat Thor up. They were supposed to be friends! 

Instead of dwelling on the issue of Banner – although Thor did, admittedly, miss the Doctor’s gentle voice and soft touches – Thor focused on finding a way out, hoping the Hulk would know enough about Sakaar to help. 

And if he had to insist that he liked Hulk more, then Banner just didn’t need to know. 

+

Later that night, Thor could hardly find it in him to sleep, thoughts too focused on the scenes Heimdall had shown him, too desperate for a way to leave. 

The Hulk, it seemed, had very little issue with falling asleep. His snoring was a clear sign of that. 

However, just as Thor was attempting to force the disk from his neck, the snoring died down. Thor barely paid any attention, busy with his task, yet the sound of Banner’s voice had him stopping.

“Thor?” He sounded scared. The word carried throughout the quiet room and Thor turned slowly to look at the bed, to see the Hulk thrashing and fighting against himself. “Thor!” Banner repeated, yet his voice distorted, deepening as the Hulk took control. 

“No, Banner! No!”

Thor watched in silence. He wanted to move, to help, to beg for Banner to join him, yet he sat still in his spot, simply watching. 

Bruce stood little chance; Hulk prevailed, refusing Banner any control. 

“Bad dreams.” The Hulk told Thor. It made him scoff quietly, but the blond turned away without a word. 

He missed Banner. 

“Thor sad!” Which, yes, he was, but Thor hardly needed Hulk pointing out.

“Shut up!” He grumbled in response. 

“Thor sad!” Hulk repeated, louder and angrier. He moved closer to Thor and the god anticipated a punch or a hit, yet instead the green figure sank next to him. An arm was thrown over Thor’s shoulder and he dragged the blond close, forcing him into an embrace. “Thor sad.”

Thor huffed. “I’m pissed off.” He snapped, but settled against the other nonetheless. It was nice, the strong body to rest against, a contest to the softness of Banner and his weight in Thor’s arms. Thor found he liked both. 

“Sad.” The Hulk insisted.

“Perhaps a little.” Thor sighed, admitting defeat. “Now, shut up.”


End file.
